By Gary S. Vasilash

As John McElroy points out at the top of this edition of “Autoline After Hours,” in 2023 Chevy sold 71,081 Colorados, GMC 22,458 Canyons, Ford 32,334 Rangers, and Nissan 58,135 Frontiers.*

That is a total of 184,008 midsize trucks.

And another number: 234,768.

That’s the number of Toyota Tacomas sold in 2023.

There were 50,760 more Tacomas sold than all of the others on the market combined.

Clearly a popular truck.

Now there is a new generation Tacoma, one designed, engineered and manufactured in the North American market because that’s where the preponderance—and it is clearly quite a preponderance—of vehicles sold.

During the development of the ’24 Tacoma an objective was to create a “Badass adventure machine.”

It was configured to be capable.

It was configured with several trims—SR, SR5, TRD Off-Road, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, Limited—so there would be a bandwidth available for buyers.

Because Toyota is committed to providing electrified variants of all of its vehicles, the Tacoma was fitted with an optional hybrid powertrain, a propulsion system that provides 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque.

Because Toyota is still interested in providing something for those off-road enthusiasts (and to the economy buyers) who are interested in a third pedal, there is a six-speed manual available.

Sheldon Brown, chief engineer for the new Tacoma, talks with McElroy, Richard Truett of Automotive News, and me on this show for an entire hour.

If you’re interested in Tacomas specifically or trucks in general, it is worth your time.

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*Who would have thought that Nissan outsold Ford in trucks?